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Costs for medical procedures on Australian pets are rivalling
those for human beings, as owners splash out thousands of dollars
on keeping their companion animals healthy.

Veterinary fees for many surgical procedures on animals are
almost identical to corresponding operations on humans in NSW
hospitals.

But while the Medicare safety net means the Government meets the
costs of most human health care, pet owners receive no official
assistance and are footing massive bills.

The trend has sparked a boom in pet medical insurance.

The Sun-Herald analysed veterinary costs after a pet
owner reported being quoted $5000 by a veterinary surgeon to cure a
case of tick poisoning in a 13-year-old cat.

The owner opted to put the cat down and was charged $1100 for
initial tick treatment, an overnight stay and the euthanasia
procedure.

To gain comparisons, insurer Petsecure provided estimates of
average costs for medical procedures and NSW Health provided
estimates for similar procedures in the state's hospitals.

Petsecure put the cost of cruciate ligament repair in dogs at
$3000, while the procedure costs about $3500 for humans. Removing a
cataract from the eye of a pet costs about $2000, compared with
$2500 to $3000 in people.

A broken leg in a pet can cost more to fix than a break in a
human. Setting a break in an animal can run as high as $3000,
compared with $1500 to $4000 for humans.

A pet's fractured femur will cost about $3000 to heal, compared
with a starting price of $8000 in humans.

A groundbreaking heart valve operation in pets might cost $3000,
while in people the starting price is $5000.

In July, a study by the Australia Institute found Australians
spend $2.2 billion a year on their pets - more than our national
foreign aid spending of $2 billion.

He said over the past four years about 20,000 people had
acquired pet insurance policies and he hoped to see pet insurance
rates here top 20 per cent, the same level as in the UK, over the
next 10 years.

Policies cost between $15 and $40 a month.

Australian Veterinary Association president Norm Blackman said
the gulf between human and pet surgery might be wider than the
figures suggested once extras such as anaesthetist fees were taken
into account.

He said the cost of surgery reflected the investment vets had
made in equipment and training and big advances in the quality of
animal care.

Julie Holmes racked up a bill of $8000 for her Rhodesian
ridgeback-mastif, Buddy.

Ms Holmes, 29, from Bullaburra, said two years ago the then
four-year-old dog was home alone when a thunderstorm struck and in
a panic he impaled himself on a metal fence.

Buddy required five operations to save his leg, including a
$1500 session with a veterinary orthopedic surgeon.

An insurance policy covered $4000 of the costs while Ms Holmes's
employer, a vet, covered much of the rest. She paid the $1500 for
the specialist. Buddy is now healthy.

"He's my boy, and I couldn't imagine not trying to save his
leg," she said.